Documentation Improvement: Clarify steps for setting up local development environment in CONTRIBUTING.md

[Prasad-JB]

While setting up Pandas for local development, I noticed that the current documentation assumes prior familiarity with certain tools and skips a few details that might be useful for new contributors.

Observations:

The prerequisites section does not explicitly mention the recommended Python version.

The instructions could include an example pip install -e . command for editable installs.

A short troubleshooting section for common errors (e.g., missing cython dependency) could save time for first-time contributors.

Proposed Solution:

Update CONTRIBUTING.md to include:

Recommended Python version(s)

Example editable install command

Quick troubleshooting tips for common build/install issues

This would make onboarding smoother for new contributors and reduce repetitive setup questions.

I’d be happy to work on a PR for this if it sounds helpful.

[asishm]

looks like you've opened another issue about this. closing this one.

[Prasad-JB]

Thanks for the update! 👍 I understand this has been consolidated with the other issue. I’ll follow the active discussion there and contribute as needed.